A/N:Sorry, sorry, sorry….It's been a quite difficult start of the year, and I wasn't quite in my full mind….So, this is my new chapter, I hope you like it. I wanted to give you a bit of what to expect at the battle scene….
IceRoza: If you don't mind me asking…what exactly were you waiting for?
Sampdoria: This chap is for you. I love your enthusiasm for my story, and you have me smiling with each review. Thank you…and maybe you should shift position a bit, wouldn't want you falling, now would we…:P
paddiew: Glad to hear you both like it.
Kisses. MoonShadowAMR.
Chapter22.
''Um…Severus, what exactly is this room?'' Narcissa asked cautiously, her eyes searching the inside of said 'room'. It had a door alright, but nothing beyond it proved that it was indeed a room.
Severus chuckled. ''This, Cissa, is called the Room of Requirement. I told you I'll show you how your son is capable to protect himself.''
Hearing footsteps down the corridor, she tore her eyes away. She'd seen Severus talking with someone through the Floo, but she didn't know who, or why, and seeing the other Heads of Houses and the school matron heading their way spiked her curiosity even more.
Narcissa gave them a nod as greeting, and saw all of them look towards Severus with questioning eyes. Well, she couldn't quite expect them all to greet her with smiles on their faces and hugs. She was after all Lucius Malfoy's wife, and they had no idea why she was here in the first place.
Clearing his throat, Severus opened the door wider and ushered them inside. ''You should all know that Mrs. Malfoy is here with us, and will remain so. She has brought us some interesting information, but I will inform you after the demonstration. Narcissa, you haven't been fully informed yet, but I trust Poppy has told the rest of you the basics of this meeting?'' The others nodded. ''Very good. Now…'' he said and turned to her, ''…I believe Draco has informed you of the defense club that existed last year here at Hogwarts?''
''Yes…'' she said cautiously. She knew indeed of the club, but she also knew that Draco had helped Dolores Umbrige to uncover it.
''Well, a little after Halloween, the club has been reinstated. You are all here to see a demonstration of what they can do. This room will provide us with everything we need to fake a battle.'' Waving his hand, chairs appeared for everyone beside the door and they sat. ''Now remember, besides the DA members, nothing else is real.'' he said and sat beside her.
Looking around again, Narcissa recognized the scene immediately. The door was the only thing misplaced there, as they were sitting on Hogwarts grounds, at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. She could smell the earth, the grass and the flowers. Everything was exactly as it would be if they were indeed outside, even the rocks seemed in the same places. She was impressed.
''Begin!''
Severus suddenly shouted, startling her. A strangled gasp left her throat as about fifty Death Eaters emerged from the forest moments later. Remembering that Severus said it was all fake, she took a few deep breaths and sneaked a glance towards the others. Minerva's eyes were wide and her right hand was tightly grasping the front of her robes, Flitwick had his wand out, Sprout was gaping like a fish out of water, and Poppy Pomfrey was clutching her leather bag and sitting on the edge of the chair, ready to start running if anyone were to get hurt. The only one comfortable enough with the scene was Severus, as he was sitting cross-legged and smirking at them.
Huffing in annoyance, she turned her head back to the 'battle'
The Death Eaters stopped in their tracks as about twenty fighters dressed in what seemed to be white Dragon skin suits and cloaks appeared out of nowhere, about a hundred feet in front of them.
Narrowing her eyes, Narcissa was able to recognize the Granger girl, Potter and Draco standing a few feet in front of the others, wands in hand and swords at their hip.
One of the Death Eaters stepped forward and her heart stopped for a moment as she heard her own husband's voice.
''Just like Dumbledore, to send out children instead of men.'' he laughed. ''Not only that, but he gave you swords? How pathetic. We're better trained in both sword fight and wand duel than any of you. Step aside now, and maybe we'll spare you.''
The only move that his speech got from them was that they pulled out their swords as one and took a defensive position.
Narcissa's breath caught in her throat as Lucius laughed yet again and waved his wand, giving each Death Eater behind him a sword. ''Your last chance to step back.'' he said, and again, they all took a step forward.
The way she saw it, they were too young to know how to handle a sword, and knew that every pureblood was trained from a young age in every sort of duel allowed in the wizarding world. And she also knew that Lucius was the best one she'd ever seen.
She cast a curious look at Severus. When she'd entered his quarters, there were also girls, but amongst the DA the only girl was Potter's friend. Filing the question for later, she concentrated on the scene in front of her. It was impressive, awe inspiring to see teenagers between the ages of sixteen and eighteen, standing in front of dark wizards with determination that many grown wizards lacked.
The Death Eaters were the first to move. Lucius advanced quickly towards Hermione, picking the obviously easy target, but he didn't get the chance to strike as Draco stepped forward and engaged his father in a fierce battle. Narcissa's eyes went comically wide as she watched father and son battle ferociously against each other. It pained her really, it shouldn't be like that. Father and son were supposed to fight on the same side, shoulder to shoulder, protecting each other…
Brushing away a stray tear, she continued to watch as the 'kids' were going through Death Eaters as if they were made of paper. They were good. Very good. Severus had trained them brilliantly, but still, they were lacking the numbers to confront the real army.
There were about ten Death Eaters still standing, when another group with black cloaks emerged from amongst the trees and they only carried wands.
It amazed her to see them so strong. They were tired, but they were still moving as one, as if they were one body, one power, no matter in what position they were, all of them made the same moves at the same time.
''Angels…attack!'' Hermione shouted suddenly and spells started shooting from above.
Squinting her eyes, Narcissa managed to see through the shadows of the trees and distinguish grey robes jumping from the trees and advancing on the new Death Eaters from behind. When they reached the tree line, Narcissa found the answer to one of her previous mental questions.
About twenty girls emerged, half of them throwing curses, the rest with a never ending belt of daggers. Honestly, she had no words to describe what she was seeing. These teenagers weren't the 'kids' they all knew, they were warriors. Warriors that would fight for what they believed in. Fighters for the freedom they all craved. These teenagers were the wizarding world's future, and Narcissa couldn't be more proud that she could count her son amongst them.
Narcissa and the others watched in amazement how with the added numbers, they quickly went through another two battles with the same amount of Death Eaters. There was no doubt in her heart now that they would succeed in the upcoming battle. They were amazing. The way they moved, the determination that shone in their eyes…everything was simply surreal. And yet painfully true.
''Enough!'' Severus suddenly shouted and everything just melted away, leaving the DA, still in the positions they had been, in an empty stone room. ''Well done Angels.''(1) he said, stood up and turned to the others. ''What do you think?''
''Well…'' Minerva cleared her throat and stood from her seat, ''…I honestly don't know what to say, and I believe I'm not only speaking for myself when I say it.'' the others nodded in agreement.
''Poppy?'' Severus enquired.
Poppy Pomfrey was the only one with her eyes still on the DA, which had yet to move from their positions. After a few moments of silence, she finally pried her eyes away and looked at Severus.
''You, Severus Snape, have done much more than I expected. Not only did you keep your promise to teach them and care for them, but you've won their respect on a scale that no one will be able to ever dream of reaching. You've changed them more than anyone would have. These are not only our children anymore, but our future. I'm proud of you.'' she said, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears.
Severus cleared his throat and nodded. ''Angels, we have to talk. Abandon position.''
Slowly, each student started relaxing. Putting swords and wands away, discarding cloaks and conjuring seats.
''It has come to my attention…'' Severus said, pacing in front of his students, ''…that Voldemort will act faster than we thought. Apparently, we have a little more over three weeks to finalize our plans and make sure that the younger students are safe. We don't know how many they have, but we know our numbers. Seamus, you and your partner are on brewing duty, Angelina, you and your partner will start making flying patterns. Hermione, you will take Draco and break the news to our allies. We have three weeks to make sure this goes how we want it to…''
''What do we do about Dumbledore?'' Neville asked.
''Exactly what we've been doing all along. Ignore him…for now…''
Narcissa was a bit confused. She never had a soft spot for Dumbledore, actually she quite despised the man, but…wasn't he supposed to be the 'light bearer', or something along those lines? There was definitely something she didn't know…but would soon find out.
''Allies?'' she asked, thoroughly puzzled by their conversation. Severus turned to her with a feral grin that sent shivers down her spine. Whatever he was referring to, not only was it a secret, but also a powerful weapon.
''Why don't you all join me for a spot of tea? We have much to discuss.''
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Ronald Weasley considered himself a fairly intelligent human being. But for the life of him he couldn't understand what was going on. Because there was something going on for sure. The usual noise level at meal time was low, none of his classmates talked about Quidditch anymore, but were paired in either two or threes and whispered away amongst them. If Fred and George were still there, he would have definitely expected a major prank after three days of silence. Because that's what it was. For the past three days, every Gryffindor from fifth to seventh year were practically mute. And now that he looked around, so were the other houses.
What the hell was going on? And why wasn't he in on it?
Narrowing his eyes in annoyance, he looked towards the two people that should have been at his side at all times. But of course, Harry had to betray him. He had to go and snatch Hermione away. Well, whatever happened, Hermione would be his in the end. Even Dumbledore had said so.
Sure, Dumbledore had also said that after the Bludger attack, Hermione would see how wrong it was to be dating Harry and return to him, but there was still hope.
Looking towards his sister, he figured that she too had noticed exactly the same thing as he, if he were to judge from her narrowed scanning eyes, and the scowl on her lips. He also knew that Ginny would do anything to find out what was going on, so there was no need for him to suffer a headache while trying to figure it out himself.
Having found a solution to his problem, he smirked triumphantly and started on his third helping of stew. Merlin was it delicious, of course, nothing like his mum could make, but delicious nonetheless…
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''Hey Dean!''
Having a one hour break, Dean Thomas decided to start perusing the Restricted Section of the library for any helpful material for Seamus' project. Having acquired a pass from Snape, it was fairly easy to just walk up to Madam Prince, hand it to her and head towards his destination. That hour promised to be quite peaceful and interesting…until Ginny Weasley cut his path that is.
''Ginny.'' he greeted and walked around her to reach the library doors.
''You know…I kind of missed you…us…'' she said, a sweet, fake smile on her face as she flung herself in front of him again.
''Really?'' his tone was beyond sarcastic, too much time spent with Snape and all that, but judging by Ginny's widened smile, he could bet his wand she hadn't caught on.
''Really.'' she answered and stepped closer to him. ''I know you have some free time right now, so I thought we could…talk for a bit?''
A year ago, that fluttering of the eyelashes, and the lustful look in her eyes would have aroused him, but at the moment, Ginny Weasley was a plain redheaded girl to him. Now, Parvati Patil, his girlfriend actually, was quite the exotic beauty.
But knowing Ginny, she had something up her sleeve. The girl never acted that way unless she wanted something. Taking a moment to think of the past few days, Dean was sure he knew exactly what Ginny wanted.
''Sure.'' he smirked at her and leaned on the wall, arms crossed over his chest. ''What do you want to talk about?''
Giving him another brilliant smile, Ginny brought her hand on his forearm and started tracing it towards his shoulder and neck. ''Nothing too important, just wanted to hear your voice actually.''
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes at er antics, he mentally thanked Snape and Hermione for teaching them to hide their emotions. Best teachers anyone could have…no matter the subject.
''Well, in order to accomplish that, we do have to have a subject of conversation you know.''
Dean watched her frown and stifled a laugh. A few months ago, he too, would have been puzzled over that answer.
Snapping out of whatever thought she had, she grinned again. ''Actually I was quite curious to know what prank you were planning. I noticed almost every sixth year being quite quiet. Are you planning it for Snape?''
Ah. So that was what she wanted. Information.
''Well…I can't quite tell you, now can I? We are planning something, some of us, but we can't risk reaching unwanted ears. The only thing that I can tell you is that yes, it is for Snape.'' Well it wasn't a complete lie, just not the whole truth.
Ginny squeaked and clapped. ''Can't wait to see what you've planned for that greasy git. Not even Fred and George dared to prank that bastard. You know, if you need any help, I'll be more than happy to.'' she said and leaned towards him again.
''I'll let you know if we need your help.'' Dean said and flashed a smile. What she didn't know though was that the smile wasn't for her, but for the angry Parvati that was watching the scene.
Shifting his eyes just a bit so his girfriend would know that whatever he was doing was deliberate, he winked at Ginny and she dissolved into giggles.
''Baby, I was looking for you.'' the grinning Indian girl said as she practically materialized beside them.
''I was looking for you too, darling.'' Dean said and planted a full kiss on Parvati's lips. ''Mind helping me with something in the library?''
''Of course not sweetheart.'' Parvati grinned again, winked at Ginny and grabbed Dean's arm, dragging him towards the library, leaving a gapping Ginny behind.
That should teach the bint to pay closer attention to her surroundings.
A/N:(1) Always loved it when Charlie said it in ''Charlie's Angels''. Liked it? Hated it? Leave me your thoughts, or any idea you might have. Thank you all.